Category: Power Pop Review

The Fate Lions “Good Enough For You”
The Fate Lions are a musical quartet lead by singer/songwriter Jason Manriquez. The band has a low key indie pop sound that recalls early REM and The Lemonheads, as well as that sleepy Beta Band vibe. Opening up with a fade-in on “Seen It All” is a good start with a catchy rhythm guitar riff that builds to a multi-tracked chorus. The rumbling “Astronaut” is a solid tune that reminds me of Cracker’s “Teen Angst” quite a bit. The 80 and 90’s styled shine is all over the album and there is no denying the bands melodic storytelling ability on “Calendar Girls.” It would help a little if Jason’s vocal was a bit more forceful, but another highlight is the bouncy “Starsign.” The albums theme is a bit melancholy, but the beat never slows to a crawl. Even when a song loses it’s way, like on “The Queen Himself” – the instrumental solos are so good, it keeps things compelling. The lush arrangements keep you hooked all the way through the album, as there isn’t any filler here. The North Texas sound permeates the songs pretty strongly on the albums second half, especially on “Ride The Artifact”. So is it “Good Enough For You?” — if you’re not too demanding here, it definitely is.

Kram “Mix Tape”
Mark Maher of the Australian band Spiderbait, has gone solo under the name of Kram. I heard the impressive single “Silk Suits” and thought this was the second coming of Jet or Rob Zombie. Unfortunately, it was a perfect case for bait and switch in pop music. It turns out “Mix Tape” is a mix of different songs, using different genres of music. So there is a fast rock song, a slow soul tune, a blues jam, etc. Kram’s vocals are perfect for a balls-out rockers like “Good Love” and “Silk Suits.” The other genres don’t fair as well, but few other tracks like “She’s My Girl” and “Long Cold Night” are merely good. The songwriting style on the rest of the album is painfully mediocre, so naturally here I would cherry pick the above mentioned tracks if it gets over to iTunes at some future point. That said – “Good Love” and “Silk Suits” are awesome riff heavy ear candy!

As a band matures, you can hear a specific direction. Ohio natives First In Space had a decent debut re-released this summer and this new follow up sets the trio (Dolus McCormick, Johhny Stanec, and drummer Beau Basement)on a more commercial power pop sound. The clean guitar work and rich chorus of “Goddamn Shame” recall the best tendencies of The Gin Blossoms and alt-rockers Cracker. On “It’s All Gone To Hell” the vocals of Dolus McCormick really shine here. It’s the consistent guitar work that also wins you over as “Take It Away” is my favorite here, where the bridge builds, and builds to a harmony filled chorus. The tracks are all good, so no filler here – although it slows down the tempo on “In My Dreams,” it picks right back up with tough layered guitar riffs on “Stuck Around You” and stays on an even keel through all ten tracks. The mid-western flavor of tracks like “Down On Me” and high energy harmonies between McCormick and Stanec on “Taking Over” recall the Rembrandts at their most aggressive and melodic. Keep your eye on First In Space, as they continue to produce first-rate power pop.

The Brilliant Inventions “Have You Changed”
The Atlanta Singer/Songwriter duo have a bright folk pop style that they demonstrate well on the opener “Isn’t It Worth It.” Both Josh Lamkin and Eliot Bronson both play guitar and harmonize together to bring a natural sound that may remind a few of The Rembrandts and a good example of this is on the next track “Have You Changed.” Clearly they have a really good sound and are skilled musicians. The Ben Folds-lite piano song “There Goes My Heart” almost works, but the fast paced “If You Want It” clearly pushes into power pop territory along the lines of Fountains of Wayne. And these guys also excel at the ballads here, as the soulful “Lights You Up” chimes away and lends a very Del Amitri flavor to the song. The slower tracks like “You Don’t Have To Be Strong” and “We Don’t Have The Words” sound beautiful, but leave your memory quickly. The energetic “Tell Her I’m Gone” is lyrically a lot of fun with lines like “what am I gonna do with a dog and cat/I told her they died so she wouldn’t come back” and “Restless” seems to channel Glen Tilbrook a little bit. But the guys need to take it to the next level as far as songwriting goes, and pop some hooks into a chorus now and then. Until that time give these guys a listen, and they might just grow on you.

Benjamin R “The Other Side Of Nowhere”
Robert Selvaggio aka Benjamin R was a music producer for bands like Eagle Eye Cherry and Puddle Of Mudd. He steps out from behind the production booth with his own material here. Robert makes good use of his studio smarts, and the sound on the opener “Quit” is quite impressive. Sounding like a cross between adult oriented pop and rootsy rock, similar to Neil Diamond or Ric Ocasik. Some nice touches and electric violin on “History” make it a great ballad. “Not Gonna Let You Go” has a good chorus, and the steady guitar rhythms and organ lead make it the most Cars-like. Another good song is “Time is Running Out” and the slightly celtic rhythms of the mid-tempo “Letters.” Some songs are very emotionally strong, like “I Don’t Need This Anymore.” The entire album’s theme sounds like the script for a slow painful divorce and the angst clearly runs in a progression from “Falling Apart” to “This Time (I Hope You’re Happy)” – not so cheerful, but a solid debut.

Here are some quick reviews of a few albums you may have missed over the summer that I listened to:

East of Fairfax “Nothing’s Different, Nothing’s The Same”
With a Squeeze worthy guitar riff, Brian Spain sings “More Than The Sun” with a slick synth keyboard and a hint of Duran Duran-like gloss. It is the highlight of the album. For fans of Daughtry, Duncan Sheik and Peter Murphy, this is a logical progression into well-written adult radio friendly pop. After this good start, we are thrown off by the melodramatic “Feel This Too” which seems to be missing some conviction. Then the piano lead in “Time + Space” suffers from an arena sized appetite, a la Neil Diamond – but the lack of a melody brings this one down. By mid album, it finally picks up with a spritely written “Letter To A Friend” and it echos John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads.” An even better approach is on “The Damage,” where the guitar riffs work well with Spain’s multi-tracked croon. But even this rougher approach goes too far on “For All This Time.” After listening to “Ready for Descent,” I was reminded too much of Corey (“Sunglasses At Night”) Hart. Despite the rich sophisticated sound, too many songs here missed the mark for me. This band still needs to find itself, but it certainly has the right elements to be successful.

MySpace | CD Baby

Chester French “Love The Future”
Smart, smart art pop that deserves a listen. In the quiet burg of Cambridge, Massachusettes musicians D.A. Wallach and Maxwell Drummey have successfully created a unique style. The big single “C’mon (On My Own)” is a song that recalls Maroon Five’s beats and guitar mixed with Sparks sonic details. In between the hits here are complete orchestral interludes that lend a European pretentiousness. This sweet combination is pulled off again on “Baby Buell” where he tells his girl “your my Puerto Rican Pamela Lee.” The smart songwriting and inventive instrumentation puts this album above the typical pop faire. The best song here is the hook filled melody of “The Jimmy Choos” with harmonies, synth effects and looping guitar lead in the chorus. The bright composition on “Sleep” is another highlight that kind of mixes Fleetwood Mac and 10cc. Other tracks are not as memorable but there is no denying this groups talent and it will find a welcome spot on any pop fans play list. The band also offers a FREE mixtape with a pile of guest stars on its site.

MySpace | Buy direct from Chester | Not Lame

Dearest readers,

I will be taking a short break from the blog this week. Forgiveness, please. I will return next week with more power pop reviews and commentary on musical current events. Until then, take it easy and keep your headphones filled with pop goodness.

The Powerpopaholic